Arrow Stunts: All rules are out the door

The Hollywood Reporter published a new interview with Arrow’s James Bamford and JJ Makaro, discussing the logistics of the finale fight with Damien, Oliver, stunt performers and hundreds of extras and the difficulties in creating original stunts on an action-heavy TV show such as Arrow.

A post shared by James Bamford (@james2bambamford) on May 25, 2016 at 4:03pm PDT

When they receive a script, JJ explains, five members of the stunt team study it and ask:

“How can we do this in a new way? What would be cooler? All rules are out the door. We have to do that, because this show is going to go forever and we can’t just do the same things over and over.”

In choreographing the final fight, James states:

“We always start with the core fight, the hero fight, and that was designed purely as a one-against-one battle. As we progress and that fight is solidified, then we start layering in where the rest of the battle will go, proximity wise. ”

JJ cites time as their biggest challenge. Arrow shoots for 8 days, compared to Daredevil, for example, which shoots for 12 days with 4 2nd unit days. That’s a huge difference. There are a few times where they have had to ask for more time.

“Despite the timing and budgetary challenges they face constantly, Bamford reveals they have not yet failed to create a stunt or action sequence they’ve set out to accomplish.”